People with severe mental illness face health inequalities.
They are more likely to have a preventable physical illness, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, than the general population which can lead to a 15-to-20-year premature mortality gap. They are also more likely to have comorbidities and multimorbidities. Research suggests rates of preventative screening such as physical health checks and cancer screening, are lower among people with a severe mental illness.
In 2021, the Race Equality foundation started a project to better understand whether African and Caribbean people with severe mental illness were aware of and accessing physical health checks, an NHS intervention to detect and treat early signs of physical ill health. This work has been funded by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s Health and Wellbeing Alliance, and plays a part in NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 approach to tackling health inequalities.
Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. A core area is severe mental illness, and ensuring annual physical health checks for people with severe mental illness to at least nationally set targets. Find out more about NHS England guidance on improving the physical health of people living with severe mental illness here.
What did we do?
Between 2022-2023 the Race Equality Foundation produced a report on the results of our consultation and a report on what we learnt from co-production. Working with a group of people with lived experience, we also co-produced a film to promote physical health checks for people with severe mental illness and an easy read leaflet. View the launch webinar slide deck here and transcript here.
Building on this work, between December 2023 and April 2024, the Race Equality Foundation travelled across England to deliver training with 12 Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led VCSE organisations to raise awareness of physical health checks and the important role they play in supporting the health and wellbeing of people living with a severe mental illness. Read the report here.
There were a number of voluntary and community organisations who supported these projects. We would like to thank African Caribbean Mental Health Services Manchester, Sandwell African Caribbean Mental Health Foundation, Sheffield African Caribbean Mental Health Association, Croydon BME Forum, Somali Youth Development Resource Centre, Touchstone, Swim Enterprises, Bristol Somali Resource Centre, Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN), Nilaari, Waltham Forest Black People’s Mental Health Association, JAMIUK and Chinese Mental Health Association.
Lastly, many thanks to all those who participated in the coproduction group and shared their experiences, it is vital to hear directly from those who are impacted by health inequalities to address them
